How to Train a Dragon
by Featherninja
Summary: How to Train Your Dragon but...wait for it GENDERBENT! Hella yes! Ok so this is the story of Hikka Horrible Haddock who is always undermined and people always say she'll never kill a dragon. And she doesn't. Ever. Hate to spoil it. But she does find a Night Fury. And she may even be the first to train one. (It has some book things) Rated T because I can get a little carried away.
1. Dragon Attack 5,177

**Cover photo by avannak (Tumblr)**

**Based of the movie How to Train Your Dragon from Dreamworks and How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell All rights reserved and all that jazz.  
**

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Chapter 1

Dragon Attack #5,177

**HIKKA'S POV:**

_ 'This, is Berk, it's twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. If I had to describe my village in one word it would be sturdy. We've been here for seven generations and yet every building we have is new. Berk is the perfect vacation spot. We have hunting, fishing, and a lovely view of the sunsets. But we do have a slight pest problem, and they're not really that easy to get rid of. Other places may have mice or mosquitoes, not us. We have…'_

I open my door and I'm greeted by the two heads of a Zippleback. One is already sparking its mouth before I slam the door behind me.

"Dragons." I let out sigh as I press my back against the door to keep myself from being incinerated. _'This is probably the thousandth attack this week. It's really just starting to get annoying at this point.'_

_ 'Most sane people would probably leave this extremely dangerous death spot. Not us, we're Vikings, stubbornness is kind of our thing.'_

I slowly open the door to check and see if the coast is clear before running outside across the charred battlefield.

_ 'I should probably introduce myself. My name is Hikka Horrible Haddock, great name I know. Parents believe that a frightening name will scare off gnomes and trolls, though I think our sparkling Viking personality does that on its own.'_

I'm suddenly thrown to the ground as a large Viking leaps on top of me screaming, with his axe raised.

"ARGHHHHH! MORNING!" he shouts in my face before running off to go punch a Gronckle in the face. I run up the wooden steps and try to ignore all the people who are shouting at me, telling me to go back inside. I'm just about to reach my destination when all of the sudden I feel a tug at the back of my shirt, and my feet lift off the ground.

"HIKKA?! What are-WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT?! WHAT IS SHE DOING OUT?! SOMEBODY GET HER BACK INSIDE!" the enormous red-bearded man shouts before he lofts me to the side like a sack of potatoes.

'_That is Stoick the Vast. Chief of Berk. They say that when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head off with his bare hands. Do I believe it? Yes I do.'_

Before I'm swept away I hear Stoick talking with another Viking about tonight's dragon turn-out.

"What have we got this time?" asks Stoick.

"The usual, Gronckles, Nadders, and I believe I heard Hoark mention he saw a Monstrous Nightmare." the Viking replies.

"Any Night Furies?" Stoick asks while casually brushing a piece of burning wood off his shoulder.

"None so far." The Viking replies.

"Good." Stoick remarks and that's the last I heard before being shoved into the Forgery.

"Nice of you to finally join us Hikka. I thought you'd been carried off." a brutish man with blond hair and a braided mustache shouted over the pounding of his artificial hammer hand on the hot metal.

"Oh no how could anything lift up something with so much muscular and raw Viking." a short, thin girl with short, choppy blond hair sarcastically remarked from the sharpener.

"Oh ha ha how hilarious." I sarcastically replied while putting my hair up in its usual braid.

'_Little Miss Smartass over there is Chickenlegs. She's been my closest friend since we were kids. She's smaller and skinnier than I am (though most of her thinness is bulked up with muscle) and yet she's still allowed to go outside during dragon battles. The big brute with the attitude and the interchangeable hands is Gobber. Chickenlegs and I have been his apprentices since we could almost lift an axe.' _

"Don't you have some fires to put out or something?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Oh don't sound so jealous it's only fires. It's not like we actually get to kill anything." Chickenlegs replied.

Suddenly a Monstrous Nightmare flies overhead and shoots a burst of fire at the closest house.

_ 'And that's we have so many new houses.'_

"FIRE!" a panicking Viking shouts.

"That's my cue." Chickenlegs says excitedly as she bolts out of The Forgery to go get buckets of water with the others.

_ So on this rag-tag group of "fire fighters" is Chickenlegs, my cousin Slímloust, the twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, and…_

My thoughts are interrupted as one boy (presumably the leader) goes up to the fire and throws a bucket of water on the fire. Right after he turns around a dragon shoots a fireball right behind him causing his shoulder-length blond hair to blow gorgeously around his face.

_ 'Aren. Their job is so much cooler (and attractive). If I could just get out of this burning hot Forgery.'_

I look around to see where Gobber was off to. I look out one of the windows to see him trying to wrestle a Nadder with his mace hand.

'_Now's my chance to show them what I'm made of."_

I lift myself up on the window sill and nearly jump out when suddenly something wraps around my waist and throws me back inside.

"Oh no you don't hot pants." Chickenlegs laughs as she helps me up.

"Oh come on, I need to go out and make my mark." I complain.

"I believe you've made plenty of marks, just not all in the right places." Chickenlegs joked as she began to sharpen a sword.

"Ha ha but I'm serious, please just turn your head for two minutes, I'll kill a dragon and my life will instantly get better. I might even get a date." I pleaded with my friend.

"Hikka you know I love you but you've got to be realistic about this. You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe. You can't even throw one of these." Chickenlegs states matter-of-factly as she lifts up a pair of bolas.

"Fair point but this," I remark as I reveal my bolas hurler, "will throw it for me". I pat the hurler but it decides to freak out and hurls a bolas at a Viking's head, knocking him out.

"Ah yes another mark made." Chickenlegs sarcastically remarks.

"Shut up." I reply looking at the hurler. "It's just a calibration issue".

"Sure." Chickenlegs sarcastically agrees. Chickenlegs stops the sharpening wheel, but holds onto the sword. "Look Hikka, if you ever want to get out there, let alone kill a dragon you need to stop all of," she gestures to my hurler and me, "this."

"How dare you gesture at my bolas hurler." I respond with mock hurt.

"I'm serious Hikka, if you want to get out there then you've got to stop inventing things, and being, well, you." she explains.

"Gee thanks that really boosts my self-confidence." I mutter, stroking the hurler.

"You know I didn't mean it like that I just think you could do so much more if you just, stopped wanting to be a Viking and started acting like one. And that means no inventing." Chickenlegs explains, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"FIRE!" a Viking screams from the distance.

"Ah yes my calling, I've got to go, just sharpen this sword and think about what I said." Chickenlegs kindly ordered as she handed me the sword and ran out of the Forgery.

I amble over to the sharpener with the sword weighting my hand and heave it up on the sharpener. As the sparks began to fly I let my thoughts wander.

_ 'Stop inventing? That's ridiculous. There has to be another way. I'll figure it out and one day, I'll get out there. Because as I mentioned before killing a dragon means everything around here. A nice Nadder head will at least get me noticed. Gronckles are tough, taking down one of those will definitely get me a boyfriend. Zipplebacks are exotic, two heads, twice the status. And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Viking's go after those. That's because they have this nasty little habit of setting themselves on fire. But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the-" _

My thoughts were interrupted by the incredible sound of a distinct high pitched whistling sound.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!" I hear a make Viking shout.

_ 'This thing never steals food, never shows itself and…'_

I drop the sword as I hurry to the window and look out to see one of the watchtowers spontaneously combust into a large explosion.

'_…never misses. No one has every killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first.'_

Gobber suddenly rushes into the Forgery and talks as he changes his mace to an axe.

"Hold down the fort Hikka, they need me out there." Gobber shouts over the clank of the metal. He turns around as he's about to the leave and looks me straight in the eye.

"Stay. Put. There. Here. In the Forgery. You know what I mean." he orders before he runs out of the Forgery screaming a war cry.

I calculate the situation. There's a Night Fury out there that I have the possibility of catching. There must be more than just the watchtower on fire now so that will keep Chickenlegs busy. Gobber can't pull himself away from a fight. I make my decision.

I grab the back of the bolas hurler and heave it up onto it's wheels. I roll it all the way to the edge of the village, ignoring the shouts of protests and people trying to wrangle me inside. I get to the top the point at the edge of the village and slam down the hurler. It opens up to reveal the crossbow that I modified to fold and unfold into the hurler. I unfold the crossbow and pull back the bow that is already loaded with bolas. I squint through the little metal ring I made for aiming.

"Come on," I whisper, "give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at." I plead to the gods over and over. I can hear its faint roars in the distance. They get louder and louder until I hear that distinct high-pitched sound again. There's blast of purple light from the sky that hit's another watch tower and causes it to combust like the other one. As the tower explodes I see the black shadow of something. It travels so fast across the sky that I can barely make it out. I aim the bolas hurler, close my eyes and shoot. My body is completely thrown by the recoil of the hurler, but I hear the bolas make impact with something. The black shadow screams as it goes down in the direction of Raven Point.

I throw my hands up in victory. "I hit it!" I shout victoriously. "Did anybody see that awesome shooting?!" I ask to the empty air.

Suddenly a Monstrous Nightmare rises from the edge of the point. It's so close I swear I could see the hunger in its yellow eyes.

"Except for you." I gulped. I turn tail and run down the hill with my hands in the air and screaming at the top of my lungs.

I reach the bottom of the hill and nearly getting incinerated twice by the dragon. I take cover behind one of the gigantic torches that lights up the sky so we can se the dragons. The Nightmare breathes a sea of fire at the thick post I'm hiding behind. I try to look over my right shoulder to check for the Monstrous Nightmare. I don't see anything, but boy am I so wrong. Little did I know that Nightmare had gone over to my left side and was only an inch from eating me.

Stoick the Vast leaps out of nowhere and kicks the Nightmare right in the face. This knocks the dragon off its guard and it stumbles blindly away from me. Stoick stands in front of the dragon's face, ready for a fight. The Monstrous Nightmare tries to shoot fire at Stoick but it only manages to spit out a few smaller globs of fire.

"You're all out of juice." Stoick growls before he punches the Monstrous Nightmare right in the face. Stoick manages to get a few more punches in before the Nightmare retreats into the rising sun.

_ 'And there's one more thing you still need to know.'_

The torch's mast is completely destroyed. The burnt wood is so weak that the torch collapses on itself and rolls down the steps setting a lot of things on fire. I mean A LOT of things.

"Sorry, Dad." I apologize over my shoulder to Stoick. I watch as the dragons carry off most of our sheep. I frantically look over my shoulder at my dad again. "O-Ok but I hit a Night Fury." I stammer, not meeting his eyes. My dad picks me up by the back of my shirt and carries me off. I try and talk to him as he drags me along.

"It's not like the last few times, Dad. I mean I really actually hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it-"

"STOP!" Dad yells, stopping me from finishing my sentence, "just…stop." he sighs as he lets me go. Now I know I did something really bad this time. He hates to yell at me, especially in public. "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!" Dad roars.

"Seriously, between you and me I think the village can use a little _less _feeding." I joke.

"This isn't a joke Hikka! Why can't you ever just follow orders?" Dad angrily asks.

"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I just have to…kill it, you know? It's who I am Dad." I state, trying to reason with him.

"You are many things, Hikka. But a dragon killer is _not _one of them." Dad harshly snaps. "Get to the house." he orders me. Then he points to Gobber, "Make sure she gets there. I have a mess to clean up." my dad thunders.

I make my way towards my house, closely escorted by Gobber. As we walk past the "Fabulous Five" they don't hold back on their own comments.

"That was quite the performance." Tuffnut roars with laughter.

"Wow that was the biggest screw up I've ever seen." Slìmloust marvels mockingly.

"Thank you it was all so you little "fire fighters" would have more fires to put out." I sarcastically remark, trying to play their comments off. I saw Chickenlegs slip away from the group. She walks up beside me and puts her arm around my shoulder. We walked in silence until I got to the front door of my house. I grab the handle and then turn around to face Gobber and Chickenlegs.

"I really did hit one you know." I state to Gobber. Chickenlegs sighs, seeing where this is going, and plops herself down on one of the steps.

"Sure you did." Gobber sarcastically replies.

"He never listens to me." I complain.

"It runs in the family." Gobber remarks.

"I'm serious and when he does it's always with this disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." I added. I try to muster up the best impersonation of my dad. "Excuse me, barmaid. I believe you've brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an amazing warrior who kills dragons. Extra muscle on the side. This here, this is a talking chicken bone!" I exclaim with my amazing impersonation.

"HA! Talking chicken bone! Good one Hik!" Chickenlegs laughed from the step. I roll my eyes at her.

"You're thinking about it all wrong. It's not what you look like, it's _inside _he can't stand." Gobber remarks.

"Thank you for summing that up." I sarcastically reply.

"What I'm trying to say is, just stop trying to be something you're not." Gobber firmly states.

"I just want to be one of you guys." I whimper, fighting back tears. I then go in the house and slam the door behind me. I walked over to the two chairs that were in front of the fire that we never put out in our house. I try to stop myself from crying but a few tears manage to slip out. I hear the door open and close and somebody walk in.

"Go away Gobber." I groan.

"Really? Gobber? I have _both _my legs Hikka." Chickenlegs says in mock hurt as she sits in the chair next to me. "What's eating at you." Chickenlegs asks.

"You heard my dad, I'm not a dragon killer. And if I can't kill dragons what can I do? What am I?" I whimper.

"I don't have all the answers Hik, I can't tell you who or what you are. Mostly because I tried to and you nearly got eaten by a Monstrous Nightmare. But whatever you are, whoever you are I'll stand behind you on it. Ok?" Chickenlegs asks.

"Ok." I agree. We sit in silence for a little bit. Watching the flames eat away at the logs and send sparks up out of the house.

"So did you really hit a Night Fury?" Chickenlegs asks.

"I think so." I admit, but I'm sure I hit it.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go find it." Chickenlegs insists.

"Really?!" I ask in disbelief. Chickenlegs looks me in the eyes, smiles, and nods. "What about the Forgery, Gobber will be expecting me sooner or later." I ranted.

"Do you want to go or not?" Chickenlegs asks.

"Yes!" I exclaim.

"Then go! I'll come up with a good enough excuse, I promise." Chickenlegs laughs as she lifted me out of my chair and we walk to the back door. "Go! Be free my child!" Chickenlegs exclaims as she shoves me out of the door.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to get that Night Fury.

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**Author's Note: So this is my first "outtro" so just bear with me. I think you guys can grasp the concept of the Gender bending thing but in case you don't:**

**Chickenlegs=Fishlegs**

**Slimloust=Snotlout**

**Aren=Astrid**

**And you can't really gender bend the twins so...yeah**


	2. I'm Not a Viking

**Cover photo by avannak (Tumblr)**

**All rights reserved to Dreamworks and blah blah**

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Chapter 2

I'm not a Viking

**HIKKA'S POV:**

I let out a sigh of defeat as I cross out another search location on the map I drew in my journal. I then get so angry and pissed off that I scribble all over the map. Then I close my charcoal pencil in my journal and stuff it in my vest.

"Damn it. Why? Why do the gods hate me?" I yell at the sky. "You know some people lose their helmet or their knife, not me. Nope I manage to lose an ENTIRE DRAGON!" I yell louder. I smack a branch out of my way and, just to my luck, it comes right back and slaps me in the face. "Ow! Stupid branch!" I scream. Then I look at what the branch is attached to. It was a tree. A tree that is now nearly broken in half. "What in the name of Odin did this?" I wonder aloud. I follow the direction of the broken tree.

It leads to a gigantic rut in the ground. Something had upturned a bunch of dirt and roots. The rut goes over a steep lip. As I follow the rut I have to get down on all fours to climb up the lip. But when I reach the top, I see it.

The lip overlooks a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing is where it laid. A Night Fury. I gasp and take cover behind the lip. I then realize that the Night Fury is probably tied up by the bolas and that's why it kind of, crash-landed. I fumble for the dagger that I keep in my left pocket. I then dash over behind a rock so the dragon doesn't notice me. I take a deep breath, and leap out from behind the rock, taking in the closeness of the Night Fury.  
"I did it." I whisper to myself. "I did it!" I shout louder. "I have brought down this mighty beast!" I shout triumphantly as I put my foot on the dragon's side. The Night Fury let's out a grunt and pushes me off of it. I stumble back, my small amount of confidence gone.

"I'm going to kill you dragon. I'm going to cut out your heart, and I'm going to take it to my father. Do you know why?" I rhetorically ask. "Because I'm a Viking." I say quietly. The dragon lets out a groan. "I'm a Viking!" I roar at it.

I lift the dagger up above my head and close my eyes. I'm about to do it. I'm about to kill a dragon. I make the sad mistake of opening my eyes. When I look down at the dragon I can see its eyes. It's afraid. I can tell by the way its breath is quickening and its pupils are dilated to slim slits. I hold its gaze for a few moments and then I do something crazy. I lower my dagger.

"I did this." I whisper to myself. I take one more look at the dagger, and then the Night Fury. "I'm not a Viking." I whisper to myself. "I am not a Viking!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I then continue to do something extremely stupid.

I begin to frantically cut the ropes that's constricting the dragon. I cut most of the ropes free and then the beast brakes free, leaps to its feet, and pins me against a rock. It just stares at me, angrily I think. I can feel its reptilian eyes boring into my soul. Then it spreads its wings and opens its mouth. I can see every single tooth that's about to devour me. I'm completely paralyzed in fear. This is how I'm going to die. I hear the familiar whistling that means certain death. Suddenly the Night Fury swoops down and roars in my face. It then turns around and leaps into the trees and flies into the cove. I stand up and begin to walk away. Before I completely pass out on the ground.

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I walk into the house as quietly as possible. I tiptoe around my dad who is poking at the fire. I'm almost halfway up the stairs.

"Back from your walk are we?" my dad acknowledges me.

"Walk?" I ask a bit nervously.

"Gobber said that Chickenlegs had told him that you had gone on a walk. Something about not wanting to destroy anything." Dad remarks. I send a silent prayer of thanks for Chickenlegs keeping her promise.

"Yeah it was pretty boring." I state. The room is gripped by a few moments where the only sound is the crackling of the fire. "Look dad, I…I need to talk to you." I nervously stammer.

"I need to talk with you too." Dad adds.

"I've decided I don't want to fight dragons." I say at the same time as my dad.

"I think it's time you learn to fight dragons." my dad says at the same time as me.

"What?" Dad asks. "That was too confusing. You go first." Dad prompts.

"No, no you can go first." I insist.

"Alright then, you get your wish, dragon training starts in the morning." Dad declares.

"Oh Thor I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough fishing Vikings, or house building Vikings-"

"You'll need this Hikka." Dad interrupts me, again by placing an axe in my arms. I frustratingly run one of my hands through my hair.

"Dad I don't need this, I don't want to fight dragons anymore." I remark.

"Don't be ridiculous of course you do." Dad laughs.

"This isn't a _joke_ Dad! I_ can't_ kill dragons!" I yell at him in frustration.

"But you _will_ kill dragons." Dad insists.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!" I scream at him.

"Listen Hikka, all you do is walk like us, talk like, but no more of this." Dad remarks harshly quiet as he gestures at my small body.

"You just gestured at all of me!" I shout, now extremely annoyed.

"Do we have a deal Hikka?" Dad asks me, now completely serious.

"Have I even been a part of the conversation?" I ask sarcastically, completely giving up on reasoning with him.

"DO WE HAVE A DEAL?!" Dad bellows.

"Sure, we have a deal." I groan.

"Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably." Dad says as he lifts up a sack and puts on his helmet while heading for the door.

"And I'll be here. Maybe." I state sarcastically as he shuts the door. I let out a tired sigh and head upstairs to my room. Which is basically just a bed. I lay myself on my bed and try to dream away the fact I'm not a Viking. But the strange thing is, I can't muster up anything to care anymore. I never fit in anyways. I close my eyes and begin to dream about getting killed by all the dragons in training tomorrow. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Great.

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**Author's Note:**

**So this chapter's a little shorter than the first one but oh well. I'm going to try to at least post one new chapter every week ok. But it has to be understood that I have a life outside of this so you'll have to bear with me.**


	3. How to Nearly Survive Dragon Training

**Cover photo by avannak (Tumblr)**

**All rights reserved to Dreamworks and blah blah**

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Chapter 3

How to Nearly Survive Dragon Training

**HIKKA'S POV:**

I wake up with the sun shining in my face. Oh no. The sun is in my face. Oh gods I am going to be late! (Don't ask me how I know that I just know). I jump out of bed and hastily put my hair in a braid, so it doesn't get ripped away or catch on fire, you know, precautions. I pick up the axe that I'd discarded by my bed, hurry down the stairs, and run out the door.

When I walk into the arena I also walk into a conversation.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." I hear Aren say. Me being the smooth Viking that I am decide to jump into the conversation with the best comment I could come up with.

"Yeah, I love pain, it's so awesome." I boldly state. After that highly intellectual statement everyone turns around and looks at me.  
Tuffnut and Slímloust both turn around and sneer at the sight of me. Ruffnut just looks shocked that I'm standing there. Chickenlegs looks like she about to laugh her head off from my unusually fake comment. But Aren looks generally amused, as if he could see my attempt at trying to be cool.

"How did she get in?" Slímloust smirks, her greasy black hair falling out of her helmet.

"Afraid I'll be better than you? Cousy?" I egg her on. Okay I admit it's not my best insult, but she always hates to be associated with me by blood.  
Gobber put himself between us to stop Slímloust from killing me. "Any ways, let's get started. The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing their first dragon in front of the entire village." Gobber explains.

"Well Hikka already killed a Night Fury so does that disqualify her?" Ruffnut asks with a smirk. Slímloust and Tuffnut laugh at her remark.

As the rest walk towards the cages that I assume hold the dragons Gobber stops me. "Behave yourself Hikka and just lay low. The dragons will think of you as sick or insane and how after the more muscled Vikings." Gobber whispers.

"Gee thanks for that vote of confidence." I sarcastically whisper back. Gobber leads me to the rest of the teenagers who are lined up in front of the cages. He shoves me in the line and I bump into Chickenlegs who bumps me back with her shoulder with a nervous smile.

Gobber gestures to the five gigantic metal doors at the back end of the arena. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species of dragons you will learn to fight." Gobber explains. He motions to one door that has a slimmer figure. "The Deadly Nadder." Gobber states.

"Speed eight. Armor sixteen." Chickenlegs remarks.

Gobber motions to another door that seems to have twice the size. "The Hideous Zippleback." Gobber states.

" Plus eleven stealth. Times two." Chickenlegs remarks again.

Gobber motions to a third door that has a gigantic vertical log holding back whatever was in it from killing us. "The Monstrous Nightmare." Gobber states.

"Firepower fifteen." Chickenlegs remarks a little louder.

Gobber motions to another door that's like the last one but instead the log is laid vertically across it. "The Terrible Terror." Gobber states.

"Attack eight. Venom twelve." Chickenlegs remarks more excitedly. I look at the amount of annoyance on Gobber's face, he was about to snap.

I elbow Chickenlegs in the side. "Stop it." I whisper.

"Sorry, I can't help myself." Chickenlegs whispers back.

"And finally, the Gronckle." Gobber states as he places his hand on the lever to the cage. The door is like the last one except the entrance is rounder.

"Jaw strength eight." Chickenlegs whispers.

"You nerd." I jokingly whisper back. She playfully elbows me.

"Alright good luck and.."

"Whoa hold on, aren't you going to teach us first?!" Slímloust shouts at Gobber, interrupting is statement.

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber smartly remarks as he pulls down the lever. The Gronckle barrels out of the cage and flies straight toward us. Slímloust and the twins split off to the left and Chickenlegs, Aren, and I go to the right. The Gronckle flies straight into the wall and falls to the ground only to get back up a second later. It bends down and scoops up a bunch of rocks.

"Today is all about survival, if you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what is the first thing you'll need?" Gobber shouts over the sounds of the frantic Gronckle.

"A coffin?" I ask sarcastically.

"Plus five speed?" Chickenlegs asks frantically.

"A shield." Aren states, completely sure of himself.

_Oh my holy Thor and Odin he's attractive AND smart. Wait, no, hold on, focus, got to focus and not get killed_. Everyone runs to the weapons board at the edge of the arena and takes a shield. I'm having trouble lifting my shield up though.

Gobber walks over to me, rolling his eyes. "Your shield is your most important weapon. If you have to make the choice between a sword and a shield, take the shield." Gobber advises while shoving the shield in my arms.

I slip my arm through the strap and hold the shield up with a lot of difficulty. I try and stay out of the Gronkle's way while also avoiding the twins arguing over a shield. I see Ruffnut hit Tuffnut over the head with the shield. Then, as they're grappling with the shield the Gronckle flies out of no where and blasts a fireball at them. "Luckily" the fireball just hits the shield and throws them off of their feet.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut you're out." Gobber shouts. "Those shields are good for another thing as well, noise. Make lot's of it to throw off a dragon's aim." Gobber advices from the side of the arena. Aren and Slímloust hit their shields with their axe and mace and Chickenlegs and I follow in suit with our hammer and axe. I watch the Gronckle as it shakes and its eyes go cross. We all split up again and run out of the Gronckle's sight.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber asks.

"Gobber! Now is not the time for trivia!" I shout, narrowly dodging the Gronckle.

"Five?!" Slímloust asks while dodging the Gronckle's wings.

"No, six!" Chickenlegs shouts enthusiastically while holding her shield over her head.

"Correct, Chickenlegs six. One for each of you!" Gobber shouts a little too happily.

"Wait, what?!" Chickenlegs shouts at Gobber with her back unknowingly facing the Gronckle. The Gronckle aims its fireball at Chickenlegs' head.

"CHICKENLEGS WATCH OUT!" I shout at Chickenlegs. Chickenlegs turns around with her eyes wide. She holds her shield over her head and the fireball blasts the shield out of her hand. I run away from the Gronckle as fast as I can. Screw it. I am not taking a fireball to the head. I go and hide behind the weapons board.

"Chickenlegs, you're out." Gobber states a little bored. Gobber then spots me peeking out from behind the weapons board. "Hikka! Get in there!" Gobber orders me. The Gronckle sees me taking cover with my shield raised and decided it would be_ hilarious_ if it were to shoot a fireball right next to my face. I scream and dive back behind the board.

"Not a chance Gobber!" I scream from behind the board. I can hear him sigh all the way from where I'm hiding. I can also hear Slímloust's pathetic attempts at hitting on Aren. I decide to peek my head out to watch her get shot down. It brings me great joy.

"So I'm moving into my parents basement. You should come by sometime and work out. You look like you work out." Slímloust compliments. I watch as Aren spots the Gronckle and summersaults out of the way. This leaves Slímloust caught off guard as the Gronckle barrels towards him. I take this distraction as an opportunity to get back out there (and maybe impress Aren, maybe). As I run out there I hear a blast and Slímloust scream. I'm assuming the Gronckle hit her shield but hey, can't blame me for dreaming otherwise. I run up beside Aren and raise my axe and shield.

"Looks like it's just me and you, Haddock." Asher remarks. I'm taken aback by the use of my last name. No one really calls me by my name unless I'm doing something wrong.

"Uh, yeah I guess-"

"Actually now it's just you." Aren interrupts as he runs off to the left, leaving me alone with the Gronckle that's barreling towards me. It fires a fireball but I manage to heft my shield up just in time to block it, but the force of the fireball knocks the shield and my axe right out of my hand and I hear the fireball explode on the wall behind me. I sprint away from the Gronckle chasing at my shield which is taunting me by rolling all the way across the arena.

"HIKKA!" I hear Gobber shout at me. But I keep running for my shield. Right before the shield hits the wall it veers off to right, causing me to double back. The Gronckle then comes up behind me and pushes me against the stone wall. Chickenlegs was right about the jaw strength. Its jaw is so gigantic and tough and strong that I can barely breath. Just like I did with the Night Fury I look right into the Gronckle's eyes. I can see the pupils growing larger with frantic interest, but mostly it is very pissed. I hear its frantic snuffing and snorting as it's trying to decide what to do with me. It then opens its mouth and I shy away at the hundreds of razor sharp teeth that greet my face. The Gronckle is readying itself to fireball me right in the face. How do I know? It's getting significantly warmer in the close proximity of my face. _This is it. This time, this time I am for sure going to die._ As I accept my fate I let a small tear fall from my eye. I hear the fire in the Gronckle's mouth roar louder, but all of the sudden all of the heat fades from my face. I feel a fiery blast right next to my head. The force of the close-range blast makes my head smack extremely hard against the rock, then everything goes black.

* * *

"Hikka wake up! Come on Hikka get up!" I hear Chickenlegs shout. I open my eyes to see a blurry Chickenlegs right in front of my face with her hands on my shoulders. There's a terrible ringing in my ears. It doesn't seem like a lot of time has passed by. Everyone is still in the arena. Which might I add, for once, was completely silent. "Do you want to get up?" Chickenlegs asks, offering me her hand.

I give my head a good shake to make the last of the ringing and blurriness fade. I then accept Chickenleg's hand and she helps pull me up. She keeps a hand on my shoulder until I stop swaying back and forth on my slightly unstable legs. I place a hand on my forehead trying to block out some of the pounding.

"Wh-what exactly happened again?" I asked vaguely. Gobber then picks me up my the back of my shirt and turns me around. He then sticks my face the spot of scorched wall that could've been my head.

"You were a perfect demonstration for my next lesson." Gobber states a harshly, "A dragon will always, ALWAYS go for the kill!" Gobber thunders. He then lets me go and walks out of the arena. Chickenlegs catches me before I hit the ground. The rest of the teenagers leave too. All with the same look of shock, mock, or disgust.

Chickenlegs supports me as we hobble together out of the arena. We walk all the way to my house. As soon as Chickenlegs gets me inside and closes the door I escape her arm and run up the steps to my room, grab my journal and charcoal pencil, and run back down to Chickenlegs.

"I've got to tell you something." I hastily explain.

"Like how you're a FAKER!" Chickenlegs overdramatically shouts.

"No, well, yes, but that's not it. Listen, I hit the Night Fury." I state. Chickenlegs looks at me now fully enticed in the conversation.

"And?" Chickenlegs prompts.

"And I found it." I state confidently.

"You found it ?! Did you kill it?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Chickenlegs asks excitedly.

"I-I let it go." I stammer.

"You WHAT?!" Chickenlegs shouts in complete disbelief. Her eyes are as wide as the Gronckle's and her mouth is hanging open in shock.

"I let it go!" I shout back at her. She just gives me a look that says, "WHY?!" so I try to explain myself. "I'm not a Viking Chickenlegs! I can try as hard as I want but I'll never be one of you guys! And the fact that I couldn't kill a dragon just proves it even more." I explain.

"Ok so let me get this straight, you're secretly not really a Viking anymore?" Chickenlegs asks.

"I guess so, yes." I answer.

"And you came face to face with a Night Fury?" She asks again

"Yes." I reply.

"And you let it go?!" Chickenlegs asks as the shock of the situation kicks in.

"That is correct." I state.

"And you're still alive?!" Chickenlegs asks in astonishment.

"I know! It's crazy! It had me pinned against a rock! But then it just…left." I continue. I need to go find that dragon.

"I know that look, you're going to go find that dragon aren't you?" Chickenlegs asks.

"Yep. Just tell Gobber I'm recovering from trauma or something. You're smart you've got this." I reply nonchalantly as I make my way for the door. I hear Chickenlegs sigh in disbelief. "I believe in you!" I shout jokingly as I close the door.

* * *

"So why didn't you?" I ask out loud rhetorically while examining the bolas that had constricted the Night Fury. "Why didn't you just, kill me and get it over with." I ask again. _Would've been a lot easier for me._ I examine the clearing and find the line of broken tree branches where the dragon had flown away. The trees lead me to a cove surrounded by rock walls. The rock walls were covered in fines and roots from the massive trees that grew along the edges. It's filled with lush green plants and grass. And there's rocks _everywhere._ There is a little water fall that thunders down into a lake. The majority of the cove is taken up by the lake. I stop at a little overlook of the clearing. I look down to see thin black disc-like things leading down into the cove. "Well this wasn't my best idea, there's nothing here. It probably long gone" I say out loud.

Suddenly a familiar black shadow leaps up over the overlook and scrabbles at the rock walls. The Night Fury loses its grip and glides away to the shore to try again. I jump down onto a lower rock to get a better look at the dragon. I quickly take out my journal and charcoal pencil. This time when the Night Fury jumps up onto the rocks I make a quick sketch of it. I watch as it fails to climb out and let's out a roar of frustration.

"Why don't you just, fly away?" I ask rhetorically as I study the dragon. Only after the dragon flicks its tail in frustration do I notice something. It's left tail fin is missing. I mark the tail out on the drawing with the side of my hand. The dragon leaps up and tries to fly away, only to fall out of the sky and land right next to the pond. The dragon watches as a fish skims the surface of the pond and licks its lips. The Night Fury then attempts to bite some of the fish in the water, but they unluckily get away.

I drop my hands to my sides and can't help look a this hungry, tired creature and can't help but feel sorry for it. The pencil starts to slip from my grasp. I desperately try to catch it but to no avail. The small pencil soars down to the bottom of the cove and loudly clatters on the rocks. The Night Fury notices me. I sit there paralyzed with my arm outstretched, trying to catch the pencil that's already at the bottom of the cove. The Night Fury just stands there and looks at me right in the eyes. Maybe it was the concussion talking but I think it wanted my help. No. It needed my help. I then hear thunder overhead. I need to get back to the others. I can't be traumatized forever.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This was kind of a late night publish for me so bear with me on any spelling and grammar errors. I'll be sure to work on anything on the weekend. Hope you guys enjoy this slightly longer chapter.**


	4. The Offspring of Lightning and Death

**Cover art by avannak (Tumblr)**

**All rights reserved to Dreamworks and blah blah blah you know the drill**

* * *

Chapter 4

The Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death

**HIKKA'S POV:**

It's pouring down rain by the time I get to the Great Hall, and I am soaked from head to toe. I walk into the Great Hall to hear Aren critiquing himself on his summersault dive. I make my way to the table while listening to the critiques.

"The dive was sloppy and it threw off my reverse tumble." Aren states.

"Yeah, we noticed." Ruffnut mumbles.

"No Aren you were great. That was just so "Aren" you know?" Slímloust chimes in her flirty comment. _How do you get your nose that brown?_ I snort at the stupidity of Slímloust's comment and she gives me a deadly glare.

"No she's right you have to be tough on yourselves." Gobber states matter-of-factly.

I reach the table and grab a plate with a chicken leg on it. I'm about to sit down when Slímloust slides over to the edge of the bench, blocking the seat. I can see where this is going. I sigh and continue to walk down the bench, looking for a place to sit.

Gobber notices me and finds it as the perfect opportunity to critique me.

"Where did Hikka go wrong?" Gobber asks the group.

I continue to walk down the bench and pick up a cup of mead on my way to the other table.

"She showed up." Tuffnut offers sarcastically.

"She didn't get eaten." Slímloust adds snidely.

"She's never where she should be." Aren states.

"Thank you, Aren." Gobber notes.

Chickenlegs gives me a sympathetic look as I sit alone at the other table.

"You need to learn and breath this stuff." Gobber states as he heads to the head of the table. He clears off plates from the table, and slams down a massive brown leather bound book with the symbol of a dragon on the front that lands with a loud thud. "The Dragon Manual also known as The Book of Dragons. Everything we know about every dragon we know of." Gobber states. He pauses for a second to listen for the conditions of the storm. Thunder rumbles confirming that this storm wasn't going away easily. "No attacks tonight. Study up." Gobber orders as he leaves the Great Hall.

Tuffnut snaps out of his gaze, sending the knife he was balancing fall to the table. "You want us to read that?" Tuffnut asks in disbelief.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut asks, as dumbfounded as her brother.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?!" Slímloust asks as she slams her fist into the table in discontent.

"Because, dear cousin, not all of us are as barbaric as you are." I state. Slímloust shoots me her usual evil glare.

"It's actually really interesting. There's a water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And there's another one that buries itself underground for like a week.." Chickenlegs starts to explain really excitedly.

"Yeah, that's great. There was a chance I was going to read that…" Tuffnut interrupts.

"But now…not so much." Ruffnut finishes the sentence.

"You guys read and I'll go kill stuff." Slímloust states as she makes her way out of the Great Hall with the twins arguing close in tow.

I look over to Aren who hasn't said anything since our critiques. "So I guess we'll share it." I prompt.

"Read it." Aren states coldly as he shoves the book towards me and walks away from the table.

"All mine then. Alright, wow. I guess I'll see you…" I'm cut of by the enormous door slamming. "Tomorrow." I finish. I turn to Chickenlegs who is just goofily smiling at me. "Aren't you going to go with the others?" I ask sadly.

"Why would I? Plus I heard this book was always best the eighth time around." Chickenlegs states as she pulls the book towards herself and pats the cover.

"You've read this seven times?!" I ask in disbelief.

"Yep. Now go dry off so we can get started." Chickenlegs orders.

I go back to the table by the light of a candle. Everyone else had gone home so every other source of light was out. The only light was my candle and the candle Chickenlegs had put next to the book so we could read it. We sit down and open the book.

"Ok. There are three dragon classifications: Strike class, Fear class, and Mystery class." Chickenlegs explains. I nod in comprehension and turn to the first page.

"Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." I read out loud.

I flip over the next few pages and land on another dragon.

"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown tress. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." Chickenlegs reads aloud next.

I turn to the next page and Chickenlegs points at the dragon.

"That's the one I was talking about before." Chickenlegs remarks a little too excitedly.

"It's called a Scauldron. It sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous-" I'm cut off as the wind outside busts the door open and a massive thunder clap roars overhead. Chickenlegs and I scream and grab at our chests to make sure our hearts are still working. I shake my pounding heart off and turn to the next page.

"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight." Chickenlegs reads a little shakily. I'm getting extremely frustrated. It seems like any problem we face all we have to do is kill it and then there's nothing else to it. I begin to turn the pages of the book frantically.

"Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill. Bone Knapper. Whispering Death. Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight." I read on and on and on until finally I reach a certain page.

"Night Fury." Chickenlegs gasps.

"Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." I read. I take my journal out of my vest, open it to the Night Fury drawing, and place it under the name.

"This is it?" Chickenlegs asks in quiet disbelief.

"Yep." I answer.

"And you know where it is?" Chickenlegs asks.

"That sounds accurate." I confirm.

"What are you going to do?" Chickenlegs asks.

"I don't know. What do you do if you don't kill on sight?" I ask rhetorically. All of the sudden a big gust of wind blows in through the open door and everything goes black.

* * *

I'm up against the wall of another one of Gobber's _brilliant _exercises. This time we're in a labyrinth of a bunch of wooden walls. But instead of a minotaur there's a Deadly Nadder trying to kill us. I would rather have the minotaur.

"You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a little Night Fury pamphlet? Or…OHMYGODS!" I scream as my head is nearly burnt to a crisp, _again_. I run away from the Nadder, the shield and axe weighting my hands might as well be chicken legs.

"Focus Hikka! You're not even trying." Gobber bellows. I continue to run away from the Nadder from the top of the labyrinth. "Today is all about attack. Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter." Gobber declares from the top of the arena.

I manage to lose the Nadder behind a corner, but then I hear Chickenlegs scream. Which lead me to believe that the Nadder had found a new target

"I'm really starting to question your teaching methods!" Chickenlegs shouts up to Gobber.

"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike." Gobber advises us. I don't know where everyone is in the labyrinth but can hear semi-quiet aggressive voices which leads me to believe the twins found the Nadder's blind spot. I then hear the voices escalate into shouts and then two identical screams.

"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot, not so much." Gobber states from the outside, proving my hypothesis correct that the twins were arguing at who had the blind spot. I find a wall to back up against and look back up at Gobber.

"So, how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" I ask Gobber.

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there!" Gobber commands.

"I know, but hypothetically." I reason.

"Hikka!" Aren frantically whispers. I turn around to see Aren and Slímloust crouched behind a wall, the Nadder only a few feet away. Aren makes a gesture for me to get down, so I crouch and follow in suit. Aren tumbles with his shield to the next wall, out of sight from the Nadder. Then Slímloust goes, then me. Unfortunately, because of my small body, the shield fails to flip over with me and pulls me back down with a big metal clang.

The Nadder turns and screeches at me. I hastily pick up my shield and sprint away. The Nadder then leaps up on top of the labyrinth and jump in front of Slímloust and Aren.

"I've got this one." Slímloust states a little to confidently and throws her mace at the Nadder. The mace misses the dragon by a good few feet and hits the wall. I try to hold back a giggle as Aren turns and glares at Slímloust.

"The sun was in my eyes, Aren." Slímloust states. The Nadder breathes fire at them and forces them down another path. As they run I can hear Slímloust come up with more pathetic excuses. "I can't just block out the sun. I mean I could but I don't really have time to right now." Slímloust pathetically explains. Slímloust continues to run through another path while Aren keeps going straight towards me, with the Nadder closely in tow. Aren slides to stop himself from hitting the wall and then continues to run. The Nadder, however, has less traction than Aren and slides right into the wall, knocking it over. This causes sort of a domino effect and causes the rest of the walls to begin to fall down. Despite all the chaos around me I'm still trying to get information on the Night Fury out of Gobber.

"They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?" I ask Gobber while being bumped into by the rest of the teenagers who are fleeing the collapsing walls.

"Hikka!" Gobber shouts as he points to where Aren is jumping on top of the collapsing walls and sending the Nadder right toward me. Aren happens to jump onto the wall that's right behind me. The wall collapses under his weight and sends Aren flying to the ground.

"HIKKA!" Aren shouts before he lands on top of me. As Aren tries to untangle himself from me I hear a few, unsavory comments

"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!" I hear Ruffnut jeer.

"He could do better." Tuffnut remarks.

"Just…let me try and…why don't you just." I try to piece my sentences together to try and tell him how to untangle himself. Aren is finally released from me and stands up.

Suddenly the Nadder lets out a roar and I turn my head to see it burst out from under the rubble of the labyrinth. Aren looks grabs his axe that's wedged into my shield and frantically tries to release it from my arm. I let out a couple shouts of pain as he tries to rip my whole arm off with the shield.

The shield comes loose just as the Nadder is a foot away from us. Aren hefts up the axe and shield and slams it into the Nadder's face. The Nadder takes the hint that it's not quite welcome, it shakes off the wood, and walks away.

"Well done, Aren." Gobber congratulates, though I still detect a hint of boredom in his voice as if it would've been more fun if one of us had gotten eaten. Aren turns on me as I'm curled up on the ground in a fetal position, trying to protect myself.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on." Aren shouts while threateningly pointing his axe at me. _So much for being friendly anymore. _Everyone leaves the arena besides Chickenlegs.

"You Ok?" Chickenlegs asks.

"Yeah I'm fine." I states without making eye contact.

"You should probably go check on that dragon of yours." Chickenlegs remarks while helping me up.

"Yeah, can I have that shield you're holding?" I ask.

"Sure." Chickenlegs replies as she hands me the shield. "What for?" she asks.

"Oh no reason. I kind of need a new shield after my last one just got smashed against the face of a Deadly Nadder." I remark.

"Uh huh sure, well just don't get eaten." Chickenlegs orders me as I make my way out of the arena.

"I won't!" I shout back at her.

* * *

I reach the cove and leap down the rocks until I reach crevice near the bottom. I slide in the crevice and land into the little space between the rocks. I put the shield out in front of me and lift up the fish I had grabbed from the market. I then heft the fish over the shield and out into the open. I wait behind my shield for the Night Fury to appear. Nothing

happens. I decide to leave the comfort of my crevice with my shield. However my shield got wedged between the two rocks and wont budge. I crawl under the shield, pick up the fish, and continue to walk around the cove looking for the dragon. I prowl the cove for any signs of the dragon, trying to be as quiet as possible. Little did I know the Night Fury was watching me from behind on top of one of the rocks.

I turn and let out a small gasp as I spot the dragon on the rock only a few mere feet away. The Night Fury crawls down the rock cautiously. It arches it back at me as it slowly makes its way towards the fish I'm holding out for it. The Night Fury cautiously opens its mouth to eat the fish before its eyes turn into slits. It recoils and lets out a ferocious growl. I lift my vest to find the source of the growling. My dagger. The dragon growls even more at the sight of it. When I place my hand on the hilt the dragon jumps and growls louder. I pick up the dagger with two fingers, hold it out to my side, and let it drop to the ground. The Night Fury motions with its head towards to the lake. Understanding what it wanted me to do, I balance the dagger up on my foot and toss it into the lake with a small plop.

After the dagger sinks in the lake the dragon's whole demeanor relaxes. It sits up and looks at me with big, curious eyes. I make a second attempt at holding the fish out in front of me. The Night Fury crouches and cautiously makes its way toward me. It reaches me and opens it mouth to reveal nothing but gums in his mouth.

"Huh. That's funny. You're toothless. I could've sworn you had…" Suddenly the dragon's teeth appear in its mouth and seize the fish. It chomps up the fish in it mouth, swallows, and licks its lips with its tongue.

"…teeth." I finish my sentence. The dragon then looks at me and its eyes turn back into slits. It crawls toward me, I think it's looking for more fish. I back away and it keeps crawling towards me until I'm pushed up against a rock.

"No, no, I don't have any more fish." I try and reason with it. The dragon the then makes a strange sound and starts heave something up. The Night Fury regurgitates the tail half of the fish into my lap. It then backs away from me and fully sits on its back legs, like a person. (Now I could most definitely tell the dragon was a boy now. Don't ask.) The dragon just looks at me for a little bit. Then his eyes go down to the fish and back at me. I do the same thing.

"Wait you want me to eat this?" I ask him. He just licks his lips in reply. I sigh and slowly take a bite of the raw fish.

"Mm yummy." I mumble through the mouth-full of fish. I hold out the rest of the fish to him. The Night Fury looks at the fish and makes a swallowing gesture.

"Seriously?!" I ask exasperatedly. The dragon licks his lips again. I swallow the whole thing, it tries to come back up but I force it down. I shudder as it slides down my throat and into my stomach. After recovering from that terrible experience I offer the Night Fury a smile.

The dragon looks ant me for a second and then he does something amazing. He peels back his lips and shows his gums. He's smiling at me. I get up and stretch my hand out to him. He takes one look at my hand, bares his teeth, and then sloppily flies off to the other side of the lake. I watch him as I slowly walk towards him.

I watch as he walks in a circle while shooting fire at the grass, and then he lays in the burned grass. He lifts his head up at the sound of a bird chirping and watches it fly away. When he turns his head he notices me sitting near him. Annoyed, the dragon puts his head down and angles his tail so he can't see my face.

I scoot closer to him and reach out for his tail to study the missing fins. When suddenly, the Night Fury lifts up his tail and looks at me. Startled, I jump up and walk over to a rock by the sandy part of the shore. I pick up a stick and begin to sketch out the Night Fury's face in the sand. As I'm drawing, a tall shadow passes over me and makes a strange purring noise. I look out of the corner of my eye to see the Night Fury. I then continue to draw him in the sand, pretending I don't see him. I finish drawing his eyes and am just starting to add some of his fins when I hear him walk away.

I look over to see him pulling down a huge branch and walking back over to me, dragging the branch in the sand. He goes around in circles. At one point he turns around and looks at me then pokes the sand with the branch. He then continues to go around and draw more circles in the sand. At one point he hit me in the head with the leaves of the branch when he was going around the rock I was sitting on. The dragon eventually stops and sits back on his hind legs to admire his handiwork while letting out a satisfied purr.

I stand up to find myself surrounded by a bunch of lines and scribbles. I look at the "drawing" and I'm about to walk around and check it out before I step on one of the lines. The dragon begins to growl. I tense and look up at him. He was in a threatening stance, growling, and baring his teeth at me. I lift my foot up and he starts to purr again. When I put it back down he growls. Up for purring. Down for growling. I then lift my foot off the line and put it over the line. The dragon purrs even louder. I look up from my foot and smile at him. I then begin to carefully step around the lines, making sure I didn't touch a single one. I begin to get lost in the movement of my feet and the lines.

Suddenly I step into a large, familiar shadow. I'm so close to the Night Fury that I can hear him breathing. His breath sends my bangs flying into my face. I turn around and look at the magnificent creature in front of me.

I reach out my hand as second attempt to touch the dragon. He shies away and as I get closer he snarls. I take this as a sign to pull back. I have one last idea. I look away from the dragon and reach out my hand again. My hand is only inches from his face. I can feel his warm breaths on my hand. Then it happens.

The Night Fury presses its face into my hand. I let out a sigh of relief and begin to breath normally again. I look up at him and he opens his eyes and looks at me. We stare at each other for a mere moment before the dragon shakes his head, and his eyes turn to slits again. He then dashes away.

I turn and head back to the village in the pink light of the setting sun.

* * *

"…and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg." Gobber finished story, motioning to his peg leg. We were all having a fire cooked dinner on one of the watchtowers tonight. Mostly so we could watch for any attacks.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon. Like if your mind was still in control of it you could take the dragon down from the inside by crushing his heart or something." Tuffnut commented as he played with his turkey legs.

"I swear I'm so angry! I'll avenge your beautiful hand _and_ your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of ever single dragon I fight, with my face." Slímloust declared as she pointed at her face.

"How would you do that? Turn them into stone with your Gorgon-like appearance?" I jeer at Slímloust. Chickenlegs lets out a laugh and I can see the twins trying to hide there smiles of delight.

"No, no, no you all have got it all wrong. It's the wings and the tail you really want." Gobber states as he rips the wings of the chicken that's attached to his metal poker hand. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber states. I hear oh's and ah's of astonishment from the group. Gobber then lets out a tremendous yawn get gets up off of the bench he was sitting on. "Alright. I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?" Gobber asks us. As the rest begin to talk about who kills what I quietly get up and run down the steps. I need to fix this.

I walk to my work table in the Forgery, which is now covered in drawings of the Night Fury. I pick up the original drawing and draw in his left tail fin again. I'm going to fix this. I spend all night making pieces for his new tail. Making rods, breaking apart shields to get the small metal nails that I reshape and hammer, and filling in the skeleton with leather. I open up the finished wing and compare to the plans. _It's ready._

* * *

I get up extra early the next morning and buy a whole basket of fish and an eel to take to Toothless (Yes I named him Toothless). I walk into the cove, the tail fin in one arm and the basket of fish on my shoulder.

"Hey Toothless. I brought you some breakfast. I hope you're hungry." I state while knocking over the heavy basket. All the slippery, moist, smelly fish slide out of the basket. "Okay, that's, disgusting." I grimace. As Toothless starts to investigate the fish I begin to list the catch of the day. "We've got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel." I list off all the contents of the basket.

However, as soon as Toothless spots the eel he starts to pitch a fit about it. I look at him quizzically and pick up the eel. This makes Toothless even worse, he jumps back and screeches at the eel.

"No, no, no! Hey! It's okay." I exclaim as I throw the eel to the side and try to get him to calm down. "Yeah, I don't like eel much either." I state. Which is very true. Eel is seriously disgusting. Toothless then starts to eat his fish contently. "Okay. There you go, you can just eat that. And don't you mind me. I'll just be back here. Minding my own business." I murmur as I move cautiously around Toothless to his tail. I place the prosthetic tail fin next to Toothless's tail and am about to strap it on before his tail moves, again, and again, and again. Until finally I sit on his tail with my back to him (not my best decision I know) I begin to strap on his tail. I finally finish strapping his tail on and sit back to admire my handiwork.

"Not too bad." I remark. Then I pull out the rest of the fin. "It works." I remark again.

Suddenly Toothless gives a lurch and leaps into the air at an amazing speed. Though the bad part is, I'm still on his tail.

"OHMYGODS! WAIT! WOAH! NO!NO!NO!" I scream trying to get Toothless to hear me.

As Toothless begins to fly to the edge of the cove I notice that the prosthetic fin isn't staying out like the normal fin, but begin pushed in because of the wind. As I noticed this we begin to fall, fast. I scream as we get closer and closer to the ground. Then I reach out and open the fin to its full extent.

We suddenly soar upwards into the sky. We are soaring very high above forest and above Berk. I don't even notice the height because this, is amazing.

"Oh my gods! It's working!" I shout to Toothless as I pull the tail fin to left, steering us right. We loop all the way back into the cove and skim the lake. I look at my best invention yet.

"Yes! Yes! I did it!" I shout to myself. Toothless must have finally noticed me by now because he flicks his tail and I scream as he sends me flying across the water like a skipping stone. I guess the tail must have collapsed again because it isn't until seconds later do I hear Toothless let out a screech as he frantically descends into the water, making a enormous splash.

I lift my hands up above my head in the water. "Yeah!" I shout.

After I dry myself off a bit I walk over to the discarded eel on the ground. "This, can come in handy." I say to myself. Then I leave for dragon training while saying a hasty good-bye to Toothless.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Whoo that was a long one. This should hold you buzzards off for a couple of days, right? I'm pretty frickin proud of myself if I do say so myself. I hope I got most of the grammar and spelling this time. Enjoy your reads, now if you don't mind I have a Biology test tomorrow that I REALLY need to study for!**


	5. If You Can't Fight Them

**Cover art by avannak**

**Copyright right to Dreamworks and the book series How to Train Your Dragon and all that fun stuff.**

* * *

Chapter 5

If You Can't Fight Them...

**HIKKA'S POV**

"Grab a partner because today you are working in teams." Gobber instructs.

"I call Chickenlegs!" I shout as I sprint over to Chickenlegs and slam into her, nearly knocking her over. We try to contain our fits of laughter. The two other girls pair up, Ruffnut and Slímloust, and that leaves Aren to pair up with Tuffnut. Gobber hands each of us a bucket of water.

"I think everyone else has an unfair advantage, due to the fact they have much more experience with buckets of water than I." I sarcastically state to Gobber. Chickenlegs can barely contain herself, but everyone else seems to find my comment only semi-amusing. "Geez, tough crowd, I'm just trying to lighten the mood." I mutter to Chickenlegs.

Gobber rolls is eyes at me and places his hand on the lever of the Zippleback cage. We all ready ourselves with our buckets of water as the door burst open, letting out an enormous cloud of smoke. The smoke is so thick that I can only see Chickenlegs, who is back-to-back with me.

"Today is about teamwork. Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breaths gas, the other head lights it. Your jobs is to know which is which, hence the buckets of water." Gobber instructs us as we blindly look into the smoke.

"Ok Chickenlegs, Hideous Zippleback, what are we dealing with?" I ask her as we circle around each other, searching for the dragon.

"Hideous Zippleback, has razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims-" Chickenlegs is cut off when we hear shouts of complaint. The scuffle reveals the rest of the group, they're a few feet away from us. Ruffnut and Slímloust are soaked from head to toe.

"You idiots! Why did you throw your water at us?" Ruffnut complains.

"You're buts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon." Tuffnut snickers. Aren looks like he's about to comment, but he thinks better of it and watches poor Tuffnut get mangled. Slímloust walks over and punches Tuffnut in the face and Ruffnut throws her bucket of water at him. Tuffnut hits the ground in a pained haze.

Suddenly Tuffnut is pulled back into the smoke, screaming in terror (and pain). Ruffnut is about to go after her sibling but Slímloust holds her back.

"Wait." Slímloust orders as she lifts her bucket, preparing to strike the Zippleback.

Ruffnut and Slímloust are suddenly thrown to the ground as they're tripped by a tail. This causes Slímloust to drop her bucket of water, spilling out the contents. Tuffnut suddenly lets out a bloodcurdling prepubescent scream and crawls with extreme speed out of the smoke that had been concealing him moments ago. He crawls over his sister like a rug and retreats to the back wall.

"Oh I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut shouts as he passes Chickenlegs and me.

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now." Chickenlegs remarks, we are now the only two left with water buckets. As if on cue the dragon now decides to show its face. Or should I say one of its faces. The dragon's head slithers out of the dense smoke and gets within inches of Chickenlegs' face. She hastily tosses the bucket of water into its face. The dragon then slyly opens its mouth, pouring out a light green gas.

"Oh. Wrong head." Chickenlegs trembles as the dragon examines her with the gas billowing out of its mouth. The dragon then sprays a ton of gas into Chickenlegs' face with tremendous force. Chickenlegs lets out shrill screams as she's blasted by the gas while running away.

"Chickenlegs!" Gobber shouts. _And that leaves… _The gas head slowly turns to me. The other head spastically appears to my right, constantly sparking its mouth frantically.

"Now Hikka!" Gobber orders me. I muster up all my possible strength. My muscles scream as I toss the bucket upwards and then lift the bucket over my head. Apparently all my strength is not enough because the water barely makes it out of the bucket, let alone to the dragon's head. Sparky then leans down and looks at me, almost smiling as if it was sizing me up.

"Oh come on." I pitifully complain. The dragon look at me for a second, its mouth hanging wide open, showing all of its painfully razor sharp teeth. It then thrusts its head into me, knocking me over, and continues to walk over to me in increasing "interest". Now both the heads close in on me with their gleeful smiles.

"HIKKA!" I hear Gobber shouts like he shouted at me when I was nearly killed by the Gronckle. _Not this time, no way I'm almost dying in this arena AGAIN. _As the heads examine me I flash the eel that I've been hiding under my vest. The dragon recoils in disgust. I take this as my chance. I get up and try to make myself look as intimidating as possible. I lift up my hands to the dragon.

"Back! Get back! Don't make me tell you again!" I shout at the dragon as I thrust my hands toward it. The Zippleback retreats into the back corner of its cage.

"Now think about what you've done." I order as I slide the eel off my shoulder and through it into their cage. The Zippleback lets out a shriek of terror as I toss the eel from this morning into its cage and close the doors. I turn around to see everyone standing there. They were just staring at me. All of them were staring in awe with their mouths agape in shock. All except for Chickenlegs who was smiling like a fool.

"Okay! So are we done? Because I've got some things I need to, uh…yep…see you tomorrow." I shout as I run away from the arena. I hear Chickenlegs' smaller footsteps run after me and I let her follow me all the way up to the Forgery.

"What…was…that?" Chickenlegs pants as we finally stop at the workbench.

"An eel." I declare as I rummage around the Forgery for our stock of leather.

"An eel?!" Chickenlegs asks in disbelief.

"An eel." I confirm.

"And how did you know the eel would cause the dragon to freak out?" Chickenlegs inquires.

"Uh, I got lucky?" I terribly lie. Chickenlegs punches me in the shoulder, making me snap my head up and look at her.

"It's that dragon isn't it?" Chickenlegs asks seriously. "You've been studying it haven't you?" Chickenlegs asks in mixed shock and disbelief.

"Not exactly." I dodge the question. Chickenlegs gives me a look like she is going to punch again and I'm still healing from a the punch from a minute ago. "Ok, ok when I let the Night Fury go, it didn't leave because one of its tail wings was severed in the crash. It didn't fly away because it couldn't. So, I'm…I'm helping it fly again." I state without making eye contact with Chickenlegs.

"That explains why there is a generous amount of leather missing ." Chickenlegs quietly comments. I lift my head up to meet her gaze.

"You're not mad?" I ask in disbelief.

"What do you want me to say Hikka? I'm very disappointed in you? I mean I'm a little shocked, ok very shocked, but this is your decision and this is who you are, Hikka. You're my best friend, from since we sharpened our first swords to forever." Chickenlegs declares. I wipe a tear from my eye.

"That was quite the speech." I sarcastically joke. I pull Chickenlegs in for a hug. "Thanks." I say as I let go of her.

"What are best friends for. Now get to work on whatever it is you're working on." Chickenlegs commands as she leaves the Forgery. I nod and wave her off. Chickenlegs stops in the doorway before she leaves.

"And Hik, next time you find a secret way of making a dragon melt in your hands, do share with me. I'm not the _best_ in the arena." Chickenlegs remarks as she finally leaves the Forgery.

"No promises!" I shout after her I hear her distant laugh as she gets farther from the Forgery.

* * *

After a few hours of looking I finally find enough leather for my next project. I work into the night stitching and sewing pieces of leather together, making adjustment holes in the straps, and using some scrap metal to fashion the buckles. After polishing it off, it's finally complete. A saddle.

I decide to sleep in today, seeing as we don't have training today and we have a surplus of weapons in the Forgery. After getting up I quickly gather up the saddle, my journal, my tools, and a basket of fish and head down to the cove. After Toothless finishes his breakfast I bust out the new saddle.

Toothless gets into a gleeful stance, and when I try to go put it on him he runs away.

"Hey! Get back here!" I laugh at him as I chase him around the cove, holding the saddle over my head.

After fitting Toothless into the saddle we take a small little test flight across the lake to test my new theory on keeping the tail up. I tie a piece of rope to the makeshift tail and have the other end of the rope to control the tail. This causes me to fly off into the lake whenever I make the slightest pull. The design needs some adjustment.

That night I decide to fashion sort of a harness for myself out of the leather. The harness loops around my middle and is attached to a leather cord that hooks onto the saddle. It seems to be more secure than just me on the saddle.

The next morning I wake up earlier because I have training today. I gather all my materials and go down to the cove to do test flight #2. I remove my usual yak vest off of my usual long sleeve green shirt, and I strap on my harness.

I fit Toothless into his own harness and we take off. This time I have the rope tied around my foot. It maneuvers much easier this way and we get considerably farther than last time. That is until my foot doesn't maneuver the tail all too well and we crash into a field of tall, soft, green grass. The harness comes loose and I fly off of Toothless and stumble to a stop in the grass. _Note to self, make some more adjustments to harness. _The grass is taller than me but I can still hear Toothless having some kind of conniption. I turn to see Toothless rolling around happily in the grass. _Dragons like this stuff. This could most definitely come in handy in training today. _I grab a handful of the "dragon nip" and fly Toothless back into the cove. I then make my way to dragon fighting to go test out the new secret.

I come face to face again with my admirable foe, the Gronckle. I think that by now Gobber is just doing this to laugh at us getting hurt. Mostly everyone is almost out again except for me, Aren, and Tuffnut.

The Gronckle suddenly comes flying out of nowhere and barrels into Tuffnut, knocking him out. Now it's just Aren and me again. Though this time I couldn't be more alone. The Gronckle spots me and is barreling straight toward me. I'm about to meet the same painful fate as Tuffnut. But he didn't have a secret weapon.

I pull the "dragon nip" out of my pocket, but don't make it apparent that it's there. I hold out my clenched fist in front of the Gronckle. The dragon slides to a stop right in front of my hand. It makes a happy snorting sound and its pupils get really big and friendly.

I rub the dragon nip on the Gronckle's snout and then have it roll over on its side. Everyone is in the same state of disbelief as when I had "defeated" the Zippleback the day before. Gobber gives a suspicious quizzical look as he hustles the dazed Gronckle into its cage.

"That's it for the day. Go get rest. You face the Nadder again tomorrow." Gobber distractedly orders. I walk out of the arena with Chickenlegs. However, now we have company. Ruffnut and Tuffnut are jumping around me and asking questions like eager puppies.

"How'd you do that?" Ruffnut asks.

"Whatever it was, it was pretty cool." Tuffnut adds. Even Slímloust jumps in with a few questions.

"What was that? Some kind of trick? What did you do?" Slímloust asks with increased interest. I catch Chickenlegs eye from behind Slímloust's back. She gets the message. I need to get out of here.

"Hey I heard they spotted some Thunderdrums off the coast! Let's go check it out!" Chickenlegs excitedly shouts over all the questions. I shoot a grateful glance at her.

"Oh great I left my axe in the ring! You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." I insist as I turn tail and run back towards the arena. I turn around a little too fast and nearly run into Aren who was slowly tailing behind our merry little group.

"Sorry!" I shout over my shoulder as I sprint to the arena.

I make a quick stop at the Forgery to make some more adjustments to the harness before I go to visit Toothless. I remove my vest and get to work. Now, not only does it loop around my waist, but it also crisscrosses across my torso and is stitched to a vest-like back to ensure it doesn't fall off. The straps are bound together with a golden disc buckle that attaches in the middle of my chest. After grabbing some simple tools from my workbench I make my way to the cove to see Toothless.

"Hey Bud!" I shout as Toothless comes bounding toward me. He playfully knocks me to the ground, pinning down my shoulders. I block out the intense pain in my shoulders with giggles and a smile. I try and pull out the rope from the waistband of my harness, which proves difficult when a dragon that's ten times my weight is sitting on my shoulders. I wave the rope in his face.

"Let's go Bud." I laugh as unpins me from the ground. Today, instead of flying around I decide to ride Toothless' around the cove to get a better feel for things. Where I can rest my leg when it has the rope on it, etcetera. This only lasts for a few minutes before I take off Toothless' saddle so we can run around and play. I squat down on my knees and pat them excitedly to get to Toothless to engage in play. He gets down into his play stance and barrels into me, knocking me to the ground. I hit the ground and all the air is knocked out of me. I gasp for air. Toothless looks at me and lets out a purr of concern. He leans down and presses his head underneath me and helps me up.

"Thanks bud." I gasp as I get my breath back. Without thinking my hands begin to scratch around in circles on Toothless' head. Toothless lets out a pleasant pure.

"You like that Bud?" I ask as I scratch him quicker around his skin. "Do you like being pet Bud?" I ask rhetorically again. "You don't get a lot of love out here do you?" I ask him. I scratch faster and faster. "Do you?" I ask Toothless in I more and more babying voice. I scratch one spot right under his chin and suddenly Toothless just collapses. _Uh-oh. _I look down at Toothless. His eyes are closed and he is purring contently. I look at my hands. _Interesting._ I stroke Toothless on his unconscious head.

"Bye Bud, see you tomorrow." I whisper to him, trying not to wake him.

* * *

We are back in the arena, facing the Deadly Nadder. I didn't have time to check on Toothless morning because I had slept in late and nearly missed training. Aren and I are the only ones left in the ring. Gobber kind of swept the rest aside. The twins had got matching burns on their arms, Chickenlegs was get spikes out of her back, and Slímloust had been subjected to another head butt from the Nadder.

Aren lets out a furious scream as he lofts his battle axe right at the Nadder. The Nadder lets out a screech as it easily hits the axe aside with its large head and heads straight for Aren. Aren dashes away to go retrieve his axe, leaving me right in the path of the Nadder.

As it tromps over to me at full speed I drop my mace and flinch as the Nadder gets right in my face. I'm in it's blind spot. Excellent. As the Nadder is sniffing at me, trying to find me, Aren gives a ferocious scream while running at the Nadder with his axe raised. This turns the dragon's attention away from me. I begin to scratch at the Nadder's head, trying to find that magic spot. Aren's getting closer now. He's a few feet away. I frantically scratch and hit the spot under the chin just in time. The Nadder goes down just before Aren gets to it. Aren's axe is in mid-swing and he's panting like a crazy person. He looks at me, then the fallen Nadder, and gives me the same look of shock he had when I "took down" the Zippleback. His axe falls to his side in defeat. Everybody was too preoccupied with their injuries and didn't see me take down the Nadder. Besides Gobber and Aren, who were both in complete shock, nobody knew I had once again come out victorious. I use this as my advantage and slip away to the Forgery.

I work into the night on Toothless' new tail maneuvering mechanism. The rope just isn't cutting it enough, but I think I'm getting somewhere by using my foot. After I'm content with my roughs sketches of the mechanism the sun as already left the sky. My stomach lets out a ferocious growl and persuades me to travel down to the Great Hall for food.

I walk into the Great Hall to see Chickenlegs sitting at my lonely table. She spots me and pats the spot next to her on the bench. It makes my heart swell with joy to see that I finally have someone to sit with. I pass the table where everyone else is sitting and take a seat next to Chickenlegs at _our _table. She even got me a plate and some mead already too.

However Chickenlegs' company is short-lived as the twins notice my presence and shout excitedly as the head over to our table. I guess they did notice my triumph of the Deadly Nadder today. As the twins, and now Slímloust too, bring the attention of my presence basically half of the tribe rushes over to the table. They ask me of my "legendary" triumphs over the Nadder and the Gronckle that I had only "defeated" a few days ago. The attention is nice and everything, but I just wanted to eat with my best friend. I give Chickenlegs a meager smile and try to answer as many questions as I can. I notice, though, that there is one person who isn't all too excited my presence. Aren. Who is maliciously glaring at me from his now empty table.

The excitement of my arrival only lasts an hour before mostly everyone decides to head home. Chickenlegs and I decide to clear out with the last of the people and go back to my house. We take the seats next to the fire. We sit in silence for a few moments, just listening to the fire crackle. Chickenlegs is the first to speak.

"So, someone's gotten popular." Chickenlegs mutters, not taking her eyes off of the fire.

"Are you mad at me or something?" I ask, trying to meet Chickenlegs' eyes. Chickenlegs takes off her helmet and exasperatedly runs a hand through her hair.

"I don't know Hikka I just thought that _maybe_ my best friend would clue me in on a few secrets to her success so I don't get spines shot at me by a Nadder, or barreled into by a Gronckle." Chickenlegs spats at me. I can hear the venom lacing her tone.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry for not cueing you in about every secret that I find out? I'm sorry I didn't tell you I found a Night Fury? Do any of those suit you Chickenlegs?" I ask sarcastically. Chickenlegs glares at me and opens her mouth to reply, but I decide to keep going. "Or how about, I'm sorry I leave you behind or clue you out of what's happening? Kind of like what you've been doing ever since you joined that stupid fire team!" I shout at her. Before I know it I am standing up and tears well in my eyes. "You left me there, in that god damn Forgery, all by myself. You. Left. Me. I tried smiling through it, you were only gone for a little while, shouldn't be that bad. But everything changed, you would talk to me less, you weren't around anymore. So don't lecture me on not filling you in, you don't have the right!" I shout louder at her. The tears are falling fast down my cheeks (Yeah I cry a lot deal with it).

The silence envelopes us. My hands are clenched together in tight fists at my side. My vision is blurred by the tears. Chickenlegs looks at me with big, shocked eyes; her jaw is completely slack. Chickenlegs gets up out of her chair without saying a word. She reaches out her hand to, I don't know, comfort me maybe. But she rethinks it and withdraws her hand.

"Just get out of here Chickenlegs." I whimper with out looking at her. But Chickenlegs continues to stand there.

"I said, GET OUT!" I shout as I swing open the door and push her outside before slamming the door in her face before she can say another word. My hands are trembling with unbelievable rage. I would usually think about doing something rash and stupid if I couldn't feel the subtle shadows forming under my eyes. I small yawn forms in my mouth and soon climaxes into a gigantic yawn. _Anger tomorrow, sleep now. _I go upstairs, barely even care enough to remove my vest, and burrow myself underneath my blankets.

Tonight I have horrors of being trapped alone in the Forgery. Chickenlegs runs away, promising to be back soon. Suddenly, bars block the windows and I notice a ball and chain that weighs me down to the ground. I can hear Toothless crying out to me. I can see the fear, hurt, and betrayal in his eyes as Vikings, led by my dad, take him away. I awake with a terrified scream. I'm in my bed and Toothless is safe.

* * *

I look out the window to see the pink streaks of a new day just beginning to illuminate the sky. Training doesn't start for awhile, I should go visit Toothless. Not even bothering with my vest, I gather up some tools and Toothless' saddle. Then, I head down to the market to get some fish for Toothless. He's probably hungry considering I didn't feed him yesterday. After gathering up all the supplies I make my way to the cove.

While Toothless eats his fish as I work on one of the flatter rocks in the cove. I'm trying to alter the saddle so it can attach to the new tail maneuvering system I'm planning. I'm also trying to fashion leather shoulder pads for my own harness to make me more aerodynamic. The first lights of day are just beginning to light up the cove. I happen to be sitting in the perfect spot to be warmed by the morning sun. My hammer gleams in the sun as I work on the harness. I hear the thundering of gigantic feet as Toothless hops around the cove in pursuit of something. It isn't until a few moments later that I realize he is following the small speck of light that is reflecting off of my hammer.

I hold the end of the hammer in one hand and the head in the other. I move the small ray of light around the cove and watch as Toothless tries to pounce on it. I laugh as he continues to chase it on walls and into the water. Awhile later I reattach Toothless' saddle and say good-bye as I leave for Training. It's time to put my new method to the test.

After rushing back to my house to put away my tools and retrieve my vest, as to not deviate from routine, I miraculously make it to the arena with everyone else. Gobber asks us to line up in front of one of the cages with our shields. I'm sure to stay away from Chickenlegs, on the other side of the group, and make sure to avoid her eyes.

Gobber pulls the lever that lifts up the large log off of the gate.

"Meet the Terrible Terror." Gobber declares.

We all look down to see a small green dragon with big orange eyes. It may be small but I can tell by its razor-sharp claws it's not harmless.

"Ha! It's like the size of my-" Tuffnut's boast is cut short as the small dragon leaps right at his face. Tuffnut lets out his signature prepubescent screams as the Terrible Terror mauls his face.

"Get it off!" Tuffnut shouts. Everyone is either too amused or slightly shocked to do anything about the small dragon attacking Tuffnut's face. I glance at the sun and glance at the metal front of my shield. I maneuver the shield so it reflects the sun into a beam, like with the hammer this morning. I shine the beam in the Terror's eye and then move it to the ground.

The Terrible Terror stops gnawing on Tuffnut's nose and directs its attention to the beam on the ground. It scuttles down to the ground to investigate the beam.

I continue to move the beam along the ground. The Terror keeps following it. I closely lead it to the small door that the dragon came out of. The Terror goes through the door, hoping to finally catch the light. As it goes back inside its cage I block the door from opening with my foot so it can't get back out. I turn to the group and give a sly smile.

"Wow she's better than you ever were." Ruffnut points out to Aren. _Uh-oh that will not blow over well with him. _I steal a glance at Chickenlegs who wears a knowing glare on her face.

"I guess, that's all for today. The two final students will be determined in a few days. Go get some rest, and don't get eaten." Gobber cheerily orders as he sends us off. I run out of there just like every other day I run out of there. On the way to my house I pick up a small basket of fish from the market and strap it to my back, Toothless cooperates better that way. I then go to my house, switch my vest for my harness, grab my materials and the new tail maneuvering mechanism, and head for the cove.

I'm walking through the forest to the cove when I hear a loud thud against a tree. Then another, and another. Then as I find myself getting closer I hear grunts and shouts of frustration. But they were familiar. I quietly peek over one of the rocks to see the top of a blonde head with a metal hair band wrapped around it. It's Aren. _I knew it wouldn't blow over well._ I can't help but watch a bit as his muscles tense when he throws the axe at the same tree, grab it, and then summersault back to his starting spot. _Ok Hikka, that's enough creepiness for one day. Here's the plan, right before he throws the axe at the tree, make a stealthily run for it before he summersaults back. Piece of cake. _I'd seem to have forgotten that I'm not the stealthiest Viking. Halfway to the next rock I trip over a root causing me to stop right as Aren summersaults back.

He looks at me with shocked, questioning eyes. I take this moment of shock paralysis to run as fast as I can away from him, away from him finding out about Toothless. I manage to make around the rock I was heading to, before Aren unfreezes, and manage to take cover in a dense cluster of nearby bushes. As I quietly crouch away I can here Aren let out a frustrated growl as he loses me. _Good, I lost him. _

I spill out the contents of the basket that Toothless happily devours it(even though I just fed him this morning). As he eats I begin to fasten the new tail mechanism. It consists of a few leather cords that are bound together by metal buckles. The leather cord connects to a foot holster that attaches to one of the new buckles I attached to Toothless' harness this morning. The foot holster itself is made of a slab of leather (leather is the best thing in the world don't let anyone else tell you otherwise) and has the outline of a shoe, support at the heel and what not, with one strap across the foot. Rope holds the whole thing together. I finish setting up the tail system and wait for Toothless to finish his fish. After a bit Toothless finishes and throws the basket off his head.

"Ready Bud?" I ask Toothless excitedly as I triple check his harness and tail mechanism. Toothless gives his tail an excited shake. I take the bundle of rope I brought and wrap it around my shoulder. "Let's go." I reply with a smile. I direct Toothless out of the cove and we head up to Raven Point.

When we get to Raven Point I tie the length of rope to a sturdy stump and attach it to Toothless' harness. "Alright Bud, let's take it easy." I comment. Toothless spreads his wings and lets the air lift us up off the ground. I hold Toothless' tail position as we glide in place. The force of the wind unravels my hair from its braid and a laugh escapes me. I feel closer to the sky, which is now turning pink with the setting sun. "This is great Bud! I can't wait until the real thing!" I shout over the wind to Toothless. I click the tail into one of the positions that causes Toothless and me to fall softly to the ground.

I write down the tail position, Position 5, and draw a diagram of what it looks like. "Alright Bud, let's go again." I state. Toothless spreads his wings again, waiting for the wind to pick us up. Soon enough we are flown back up into the sky, but the wind is more ferocious this time. I try to steer Toothless to the ground but the wind pushes back even harder. Until suddenly, the rope snaps, and Toothless and I are thrown back into the trees. Toothless flips himself up from his back and onto his legs. I feel a tug at my waist as I'm being pulled up with Toothless. I turn myself as best I can and look at my safety cord. The safety hook is bent around the ring on Toothless' harness. "Oh great." I mutter to myself. I have to go find something to remove the connecting cord. That means I have to take the most rare and elusive dragon, the one that everybody would kill for one chance to, well, kill, right into the near middle of my village. Great.

* * *

I lean against one of the buildings as I see the light of a torch come closer to me. I push Toothless as far back into the shadows of the building as he can go. The random patroller walks by me and tips his Viking hat.

"Hikka." he greets me as he passes me. I give him my best smile and nonchalant wave. When the torch light fades I pull Toothless out of the shadows to lead him to the Forgery. I sprint as fast as I can with Toothless and leap into the Forgery. I make my way for the tool bench to find the right tool to unbend the safety hook. Suddenly I hear a crash and look behind me to see the rack of spears on the ground next to an out of place basket.

I give a scolding glare at Toothless who flattens his ears to his head when I scold him. I continue you to search through the bench for the right tool when I hear Toothless let out a low growl. Somebody else is in here. In all the adrenaline I guess I must've forgotten to check to see if there was any light in here. _Ohnonononono Please don't be Gobber. Anybody but Gobber. Please Odin Almighty!_

I turn to see Chickenlegs standing in the doorway her jaw completely slack and her eyes wide (again). Her charcoal pencil falls from her limp hands that had fallen to her sides. I place a hand on Toothless to comfort him. "Shush Bud." I order him. Toothless stops growling. She opens her mouth to scream before I throw my hand on it. "Shhhhh. I can explain but you can't scream." I whisper to Chickenlegs. She nods her head. "Pass me that wrench." I command holding out my hand for it. Chickenlegs nods and hands the tool over to me. I begin to wrench the safety hook when I hear someone outside.

"Hikka?" a male voice calls from outside. _What? What could anyone possibly want right now?! _I stop working on the safety hook.

"Are you in there?" the voice asks. As I hear his footsteps draw closer I pull Toothless closer to the window. I jump through the shutters and close them behind me. I am now face to face with none other than Aren. I then notice that I am a complete mess. My hair is an unbraided, unruly mess that most likely has a branch or two in it.

"Aren! Hi! Uh- hi Aren. Hi Aren. Hi…Aren." I stammer trying to blindly pick the branches out of my hair while smiling my best fake smile. Aren gives me a suspicious cold glare.

"I normally don't care what people do, but you are acting weird." Aren accusingly growls while pointing at me. I feel a tug at the waist and hit the window sill. _Toothless no. _

"Eheheh." I nervously laugh, trying to detach myself from Toothless.

"Well, weirder." Aren sneers while giving me a surveying look. Suddenly I feel myself lift off the ground, my legs hanging in mid-air. I feel I final tug as I get pulled back into the Forgery through the shutters. _Well that's going to be hard to explain later. _

"Don't worry, don't worry I almost…got it!" Chickenlegs quietly exclaims as she unbends the hook. I don't even have time to thank her before I jump on Toothless' back and he stealthily leaps off into the night. As we leave I hear the Forgery's shutters open and hear Chickenlegs' stammering voice answer.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**HEY! So it's been awhile. My bad. I was sick, vomiting, gross, not pretty trust me. But I'm back now and boy do I tell you I'm working overtime here guys. But thanks for sticking with me! Enjoy your weekly reads!**


	6. The Final Test Flight

**Cover art by: avannak (Tumblr)**

**Copyright rights/all rights reserved to Dreamworks and How to Train Your Dragon  books and blah and blah and blahblahblah**

* * *

Chapter 6

The Final Test Flight

**HIKKA'S POV:**

I wake up the next morning to a knock on my door. "Dad?" I ask out loud. As much as I hate him being disappointed in me I'll never wish to be an orphan. I run down the stairs and open the door. The door opens and reveals Chickenlegs standing outside my on my porch. In her hands is two turkey legs and two bottles of mead.

"Truce?" Chickenlegs cheekily asks. I close the door but it hits Chickenlegs' foot and swings in. "Ok. That was unnecessary." Chickenlegs remarks as she walks into my house.

"What do you want Chickenlegs?" I ask, annoyance thickening my voice.

"How about I start with, I'm sorry." Chickenlegs states. I open my mouth to object but she keeps going. "I'm sorry that I was such a gripe about the whole dragon methods. I'm sorry I blamed you for not revealing every single secret. I can say all these things and not mean them at all, but I have one thing that I will always be sincerely sorry for. My biggest regret is that I left you alone and abandoned you because I wanted to go out there and fight dragons when I should've stayed and looked after my best friend. And for that I am truly sorry." Chickenlegs chokes out the rest. We stand in what is beginning to become a familiar type of silence.

"Is that mead any good?" I ask Chickenlegs with a smile. She gives me the brightest smile I've ever seen and lobs me a bottle.

* * *

After we throw some logs on the fire to cook the turkey legs and wolf them down we hold our bottles of mead and tell jokes and laugh. It felt good, like the argument never even happened. We laugh and laugh until our sides feel like they're being jabbed (yes it is still morning). We decide to put down the bottles when they are half way empty so we can compose ourselves to actually talk. After awhile we finally "sober up" and get more serious.

"So why did you bring a _Nightfury_ into the _village_ last night?" Chickenlegs asks, still a bit giggly.

"Well when I was riding on Toothless-" I begin.

"You named it?!" Chickenlegs asks in disbelief.

"Yes, now shush." I command as I continue. "I was writing down tail positions for Toothless when the wind picked up and threw us into the forest; the impact bent the safety hook that I put on his saddle so I wouldn't fall off." I finish explaining.

"So wait, wait hold on a second you've been riding on the _back_ of a _Nightfury_?! Chickenlegs asks again in continued disbelief.

"That is correct." I confirm, like I've done so many times before. Chickenlegs gets up from her chair, sways a little bit, but the stables herself.

"I want to meet this dragon." Chickenlegs declares. I stand up to meet her eyes.

"Really?" I ask a bit shocked.

"Yeah, I can help you find out the dragon submission methods, I can write them down. We can make a book about how to control dragons." Chickenlegs excitedly continues.

"Ok, well let's go, I've got one more test flight to run, you can stand by in the cove, maybe do some research, doodle in my journal." I pick up the idea as equally excited.

"Sweet!" Chickenlegs exclaims. I make my way for the door before she stops me. "Wait, I just remembered, the ships are back. I saw your dad talking to Gobber awhile ago. You should go out the back way, I'll get the fish and meet you there." Chickenlegs explains.

"Good, good idea Chickenlegs." I compliment. I search my waistband for my journal. I pull it out and hand it to Chickenlegs. "Here, take this, there's a map to the cove inside. When you get there jump down the best you can, but don't make yourself apparent. There should be a shield wedged between a gap in one of the rocks. Wait for me there." I explain as I hand her the journal.

"Will do." Chickenlegs comprehends as she excitedly leaves the house for the fish. After Chickenlegs leaves I put on my harness and leave the house. Ever since I've been leaving Toothless' saddle with him I've had a lot less of a weight to carry.

* * *

I hop down the rocks and into the gaps where Chickenlegs is waiting.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" I ask Chickenlegs. She pats herself down and shakes her head.

"Ok, I'm going to go out there and get him to lighten up. Then I'll bring you out and instruct you through the rest ok?" I ask making sure she understands my instructions. Chickenlegs nods in understanding at my words.

I give Chickenlegs one last curt nod before I duck under the shield and walk into the cove.

"Tooooothless. I've got something to show yooooou." I call out into the cove. I look around the cove and spot Toothless hanging from one of the tree roots that overflow into the cove. He must still be tired from the late night we had last night. I feel I sly grin come across my face as I sneak over to where Toothless is hanging, trying not to make a sound.

I place my head right next to his and let out the most ferocious, Viking-like scream I could muster.

Toothless' eyes spring open as he lets out a screech and falls to the ground. I double over in a fit of laughs and giggles. As the fit subsides I get to the task at hand and lead Toothless to where Chickenlegs waits behind the shield.

"Time to go Chickenlegs." I whisper into the gap. I give Toothless some space from the gap and sit on a nearby rock. Chickenlegs needs to try and do this by herself.

I watch as Chickenlegs ducks under the shield holding one of the fish from the basket. Toothless lets out a low growl and flashes his teeth as he steps in front of the rock I'm sitting on. If Toothless thinks Chickenlegs is going to hurt me this will be a bit harder. Chickenlegs backs up and holds the fish out in front of her while holding out her other hand.

"I'm not going to hurt her Toothless." Chickenlegs gulps as she tries to reason with Toothless. Toothless looks at Chickenlegs with narrowed eyes and looks over to me for clarification. I smile at Toothless when he looks at me. He turns his head back over to Chickenlegs and edges closer to her.

Toothless gives Chickenlegs a once over, looking for signs of a threat. Luckily I had advised Chickenlegs to remove her dagger before we came here. But something sends Toothless into a growl again. I look over to see Toothless glaring daggers at the small Viking hat that sits on top of Chickenlegs' head.

Chickenlegs, heading my advice, grabs her helmet with her free hand and drops it to the ground. She then uses her foot to roll the helmet off into the lake. As soon as the helmet hit's the water Toothless' demeanor relaxes completely.

Toothless slowly makes his way towards the fish with his mouth open and his teeth retracted. He gets closer and closer until the fish is almost in his mouth.

"Oh so that's why your name is Toothless." Chickenlegs remarks.

I hear I surprised and shocked yelp from Chickenlegs as Toothless bites into the fish and throws it back in his mouth. Toothless sniffs Chickenlegs for more fish and even though she doesn't back away like I did she still ends up on the ground because Toothless nudged her a bit too hard.

"Do you want me to go get more fish Toothless?" Chickenlegs asks a bit nervously.

Suddenly I hear Toothless regurgitate half of the fish into Chickenlegs arms. I hear Chickenlegs let out a disgusted sigh as she takes a bite of the fish and swallows it with some difficulty.

Then, following my earlier instructions Chickenlegs gets up slowly, closes her eyes, and looks over her shoulder. She then slowly reaches out her arm to Toothless' face. I watch as Toothless gives her one last once-over and then leans into her hand. I see Chickenlegs knees nearly buckle as Toothless removes his snout from her hand.

I let out a whoop of joy from my rock and Toothless comes over and jumps happily around me, feeding off my excitement. I run over to the shield and heft the fish basket over. Toothless lets out a shout of joy as the contents spill over onto the ground.

* * *

After Toothless finishes off the fish I decide it's time for our final test flight. After I check Toothless saddle and my safety hooks I clip the cheat sheet I made onto Toothless' harness.

"Don't wait up Chickenlegs!" I shout down into the cove as Toothless and I fly off to Raven Point.

We get to the top of Raven Point and I saddle up on Toothless. I pat Toothless on the side.

"Ready Bud?" I ask as I hook on my harness. Toothless lets out an excited shout and leaps up into the sky. I shout as I'm lifted up into the endless blue sky. Toothless glides and wait for me decide on tail positions. I look around to see the mountain that reaches up into the clouds. The forest is below me and the ocean is even farther down. I feel my stomach drop to my feet when I look at the distance between me and death.

"Oh no, ohgodsohgods Ok, Ok Toothless we're going to take this nice and slow." I announce to Toothless. "Ok here we go here we go, position three no wait, four, position four." I clarify to myself as I look over the tail position cheat sheet. I click the tail into position as we slow our guide. I don't have to see Toothless' face to know he's rolling his eyes at my reluctance to accelerate.

As we glide into an arch I pull up on Toothless' saddle to make sure it's secure and I don't fall off and plummet to my…..never mind.

As Toothless and I glide into the clear sky I look back to check Toothless' tail fin. It seems to be functioning properly. It flaps a bit more in the wind than I would like but it's doable. It's time to speed things up a bit.

"Ok, ok it's go time. It's go time." I mutter to myself. I lean into the saddle and press myself down. Toothless follows in motion and dives down toward the water. I feel myself lift up as we make our descent to maintain my balance on the saddle.

We're going down faster and faster, accelerating toward the water. I hear as Toothless flaps his wings to steady our descent towards the water. We are so close to the water that when Toothless sways his wings to the side the tips touch the water, sending it spraying up against my legs. I feel Toothless swaying more, trying hard to maintain his balance.

"Come on. Come on Bud. Come on Bud!" I shout to Toothless over the deafening wind. Toothless and I level out as we glide under a large arch of rocks. I look up to see dots of white seabirds high above us, nearly scraping the top of the arch of rock.

After we glide under the rock I look over my sides to check the harness and the tail fin.

"Yes it worked!" I shout down to Toothless. I lean and make us go even faster. But I kind of accidentally steer us into a sea stack. Toothless hit's the rocks and lets out a pained yelp.

"Sorry!" I shout to Toothless. I steer us away from the sea stack only to run Toothless into another sea stack.

"Ok that was my fault." I declare. Toothless lets out an annoyed growl and slaps me with one of the fins on his face.

"Ouch! Geez. I'm on it. Position four, no three." I declare. I quickly refer to the cheat sheet and then click the tail position. Toothless feels the shift and begins to climb into the sky. I hear Toothless let out an excited roar as we climb up into the clouds. I look to my left and see us almost leveled with the top of the mountain. I feel my hair release itself from its braid and fall out into the wind.

"Yeah! Go Bud!" I shout to Toothless as we climb higher and higher. Toothless sticks his tongue out of his mouth and lets out a delighted shout. We keep going and going, up into the clouds.

"Oh my gods! This is amazing!" I shout out to the sky. "The wind, blowing in my…" suddenly the tail position sheet flaps out from the clip and flies into the sky, "CHEAT SHEET! STOP!" I shout to Toothless as I let go of the saddle to catch the cheat sheet. Toothless reaches our flight's peak and stops in the air. I feel myself lift up off of Toothless' back as my safety harness lifts out of the hooks. I'm flying through the air again, right off of Toothless' back and into the open sky. I fly in front of Toothless' face and see the utter shock on his face when he sees _me _in front of _him_.

"Toothless!" I scream as I begin to fall. Toothless lets out an ear blasting screech as we both fall down to the ocean below us. My back is facing the ground as I stare straight up at the endless blue sky.

"Oh my gods! OH MY GODS! NO!" I scream as I fall fast down the enormous distance Toothless and I just climbed. I manage to flip myself over on my stomach. I try and reach for Toothless' wing but all that happens is that I run into and flip over and over until I "land" on my stomach . Toothless manages to dive down and meet me where I ended up, but he begins to spiral out of control. My hair is whipping every which way around my face and in my eyes as I try to reach out to Toothless.

"Ok Toothless just angle yourself towards me." I shout to Toothless who can't hear me over his spastic spinning. "No I mean come back towards me! Just come back towards me!" I shout quickly over and over again. As Toothless tries to angle himself on his downward spiral his tail suddenly smacks me right in the face.

"OW!" I scream as the tail bitch slaps me right in my cheek. The force of the blow sends me into my own downward spiral. I manage to spin myself with Toothless and angle myself to land on his back. I clamp my teeth down hard on the cheat sheet as I land on Toothless' saddle. I hook my harness back on, jam my foot into the holster, and set the tail into gear.

Toothless and I are nearing the bottom of the mountain as I finally gain control of him. I let out a muffled scream as I pull Toothless back to slow our decent right into the trees and possibly to our death.

Toothless' wings outstretch as he fans out his wings to slow us down. I swear we are so close to the trees that I can feel the tops of them scratch at my back. Toothless lets out a screech as we speed towards an ominous cluster of rocks that are shrouded in fog. I pull the cheat sheet out of my mouth and lift it up to consult it, but the wind is beating us with such extreme force that I can't make out what the paper says while it's flapping in the wind. The rocks our getting closer and closer.

I take one last look at the chest sheet before I discard it over my shoulder. I press myself to Toothless' shoulder as we shoot into the foggy cluster of rocks. I quickly switch gears as we enter the fog to avoid a cluster of rocks. As we speed through I constantly change the tail gears so we don't run into rocks. We speed toward to rocks that have a slim gap between them. I click the tail into gear and we corkscrew through the gap. I throw my weight left and right to steer Toothless around the rocks that threatened to bring us down into the dark water.

I see a patch of blue sky in the thick fog and steer Toothless toward it. We emerge from the foggy patch of rocks and are greeted by the sun and the cloud-blotted blue sky. I'm panting from expurgation and the intense ride. I throw my hands up and let out a victorious scream. Toothless lets out a joyful shout and in his excitement shoots a ball of violet fire into the sky in front of us. I drop my hands and can only watch as we fly towards the cloud of fire.

"Oh come on." I complain as we fly right into the fire.

* * *

I lean against Toothless as we both eat the fish that Toothless that I had managed to catch. Toothless like to eat them right out of the water, I prefer to them over a fire. My hair is blown stiff behind me, completely unbraid able. Toothless regurgitates a fish head right next to me.

"Uh no thanks, I'm good." I mutter holding up my fish that I'm roasting over my temporary fire.

I spot a pack of Terrible Terrors flying towards us. I look over to Toothless who bares his teeth and lets out a menacing growl while putting a protective arm around his fish. The four Terrible Terrors scuttle toward us. A light blue one drags off the fish head and begins to eat it. The orange Terrible Terror walks up to the fish head and tries to take it. The light blue one lets out a high pitched growl and shoots a stream of fire at the orange one. I hear Toothless let out an exasperated snuff. I look over to the fish pile to see one of the fish…_moving_. Out of the pile comes the green Terrible Terror trying to pull away one of Toothless' fish. Toothless, noticing the moving fish also, swiftly grabs the head of the fish. The Terror growls as he trys to pull the fish's tail back from Toothless. It only takes one pull from Toothless to snatch it out of the Terror's mouth and swallow it. The Terror gets up from being thrown from the fish and scrapes it feet at the ground in frustration. The little Terror leans back to shoot a fireball at Toothless, but when he opens his mouth Toothless shoots a small fireball into it, causing the Terror to fall to the ground, smoke pouring out of his nostrils.

"Ha, not so fireproof on the inside are you?" I remark. I pick up one of the fish and throw it to the green Terror. "There you go little guy." I giggle as I watcch him swallow up the fish. I settle back down by Toothless and continue to roast my fish. The Terrible Terror looks at me and then scuttles over to my side and curls up under my arm, purring contently. I rest my hand on top of the Terror.

"Everything we know about you guys, is wrong." I realize.

* * *

After taking Toothless back to the cove and washed the soot of my face and unstiffened my hair I headed back to Forgery to contemplate. I lay my head on my workbench and roll my charcoal pencil up and down, up and down. _So know I'm not a Viking and now I have the knowledge that not all dragons want to kill. What else can possibly not go my way?_ I look to my left and see a figure standing in the door way. A big, bulky figure with a red beard. I quickly close my journal and give the papers (all the diagrams of Toothless' tail) a good scatter.

"Dad." I beam as I run over and give him a hug. "What brings you my humble abode?" I ask my dad. My dad struggles through my small doorway, but manages to tumble through it.

"Well, I'm here to talk to you." Dad states. I sit back down in my stool.

"What about?" I ask.

"You've been keeping secrets from me Hikka." Dad declares.

"I…I have?" I stammer, a little taken aback by his declaration.

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Dad asks, narrowing his eyes. I shuffle my drawings around again.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." I deny with a smile, shuffling around my papers more.

"Nothing happens on this island that I don't know about." Dad declares.

"Oh?" I ask as I nonchalantly rest by elbow on my journal.

"So let's talk, about that dragon." Dad grunts. My elbow slips and causes my journal to fall to the ground. _Oh no. How did he find out?!_ I stressfully run a hand through my hair.

"Oh Gods. Dad I swear, I was going to tell you you I just didn't know how-" I'm cut off as Dad let's out a big bellowing laugh. I nervously laugh along with him. "Uh, y-you're not…upset?" I ask nervously.

"Upset?! I was hoping for this!" Dad happily belts with a laugh.

"Uh…y-you were?" I stammer, a bit confused.

"And believe me it gets much better! Just wait 'till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time!" Dad thunders happily. _So this is still about killing dragons. Of course, why wouldn't it be? That's all they ever do or think about is kill, kill, kill._

"And when you mount a Gronckle head on a spear!" Dad continues. "What a feeling!" Dad exclaims as he hits me on the soulder so hard a stumble backwards and fall into a basket. I open my mouth to tell him, about everything, the fact I don't want to be a Viking, Toothless, everything, but what he says next stops me.

"You really had me going there. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen!" Dad exclaims. I close my mouth, this isn't the time to dissappoint him again. I sit quietly in my stool and listen to my father. "Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you! And all the while, you were holding out on me! Thor almighty!" Dad exclaims with a pump of his fist. "With you doing so well in the ring, we finally I've something to talk about." Dad rejoices as he excitingly pulls up a stool across from me.

I look around the Forgery, avoiding my dad's eyes, looking left and right. I stare at my journal on the ground and the sketches on my workbench. _I should tell him. Right now, hee should know the truth._ I open my mouth more than once, considering the words, but nothing comes out. We just kind of sit there in awkward silence.

"Oh I almost forgot." Dad states, breaking the silence. He reaches behind him and pulls out a Viking helmet. A helmet that looks like it can fit on my head.

"To keep you safe in the ring." Dad states as he hands it to me.

"Wow. Thanks Dad." I marvel as I look at the way the horns curl.

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it." Dad confesses. Guilt grips my stomach, _Would mom have understood my dislike for kiling dragons? Would she be disappointed like Dad?_

"It's half of her breast-plate." Dad adds. To most people that might be a little gross, but it makes me want to hold onto the helmet even more.

"Matching set." Dad tells me while tapping his helmet. "Keeps her close, y'know?" Dad asks. I did know, the helmet was a part of her and it makes me feel like she's with me. I place my hand on top of it and look at my Dad.

"Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal." Dad admits. More awkward silence. I can see it in his eyes, Dad desperately needs an escape. I give the most convincing stretch and let out the most convincing yawn.

"I should probably get to bed." I yawn.

"Of course." Dad says while getting up.

"Yeah." I state.

"Good talk." Dad declares

"See you back at the house." I add.

"We should do this again." Dad remarks.

"Thanks for stopping by." I state as convincingly happy as possible.

"Hope you like the hat." Dad remarks.

"Thanks for the hat." I thank Dad again.

"Well uh…good night." Dad remarks as he squeezes back through the doorway. I let out a relieved sigh, like I can finally breath. I hear the shields and spears that lay outside the door clatter and fall to the ground. _At least I know where I get my stealth genes from._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I hope you guys like this chapter. I mean some of you may think I'm using Hikka's forgiveness for Chickenlegs as an over-used anecdote or a filler, but this is how I wanted to handle it so there. Ok that's all I've got enjoy your reading!**

**P.S. **

**I was a bit busy last week with school and all that jazz so you guys need to bear with me because I might only be able to put up a new chapter every other week. (Ecspecially since we start studying for finals in a week or two and those are going to be a BITCH)**


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